This guide of Berlin's best museums It will help you to know an important part of the endless cultural offer of this vibrant European city.
Although this modern city has more than 170 museums of all themes and for all tastes, not counting art galleries, on a regular visit of 2 to 3 days we recommend visiting at least two of them. The most important are the famous New Museum and Pergamon Museum, which are located on Museum Island, located next to the Spree River and declared a World Heritage Site.
This island and the other museums scattered throughout the city make Berlin a real treasure for travelers who like culture and art.
Based on the experience of our two visits to this city, in the last one we wrote this guide to travel to Berlin, we have made this list of 5 most essential museums in Berlin. We start!
1. Pergamon Museum
The best museum in Berlin and the most visited is the Pergamon Museum, where the collections of classical antiques, oriental art and Islamic art, located among the most important in the world, are exhibited.
Opened in 1930, this museum was built taking into account the size of the works that it was going to house and it is for this reason that some pieces of art are part of the structure of the building.
Among his most outstanding works is the Altar of Pergamum, which belongs to an altar dedicated to Zeus built over 2000 years ago in the acropolis of the Greek city of Pergamum and which is a real wonder.
Two other great jewels of the museum are the Istar Gate, one of the 8 monumental doors of the inner wall of ancient Babylon, and the door of the Roman market of Miletus, built in marble in 120 AD ...
In addition to these 3 world-famous works, you have others of incalculable value such as the Facade of Mushatta, the Hall of Aleppo and the Dome of the Alhambra in Granada.
If you do not want to waste time in the queue, quite long especially in high season and holidays, you can book this quick ticket or this day pass that will give you access to all the museums of the island for a price similar to that of the entrance to this museum.
The closest station to Museum Island is Friedrichstrasse, which you can reach by taking the U6 subway line or the S1, S2, S5, S7, S9, S25 and S75 train lines
Visiting hours: every day from 10am to 6pm; Thursdays open until 8pm.
Pergamon Museum
2. New Museum
Another of the most essential museums to visit in Berlin is the Neues Museum or New Museum that has as its great jewel the bust of the Egyptian queen Nefertiti of 3300 years, discovered by the German explorer Ludwig Borchardt.
This piece is part of an extensive collection of Ancient Egypt in which you can find mummies, papyri and the impressive Green Head of Berlin, a bust of the 350th century B.C. made of slate and considered one of the most important works of Egyptian art.
Other interesting works of this museum are the Portrait of Queen Tiy, the Neanderthal skull of Le Moustier, the silver vessels of the Priam Treasure, the Golden Hats and the Helios statue.
The only drawback of the museum is that you can not take pictures of the bust of Nefertiti from the room where it is exposed, so if you want to take a souvenir, the only option is to use a camera with a good zoom from the outside.
To avoid queues you can book this ticket or buy the Berlin WelcomeCard, a card that includes unlimited public transport, discounts of up to 50% in more than 190 attractions and the option to include the entrance to two museums of the Museum Island.
Visiting hours: every day from 10am to 6pm; Thursdays open until 8pm.
New Museum
3. Topography of Terror, one of the best museums in Berlin
The Topography of Terror, built on the site where the headquarters of the dreaded Secret Police (GESTAPO), the direction of the SS and the Security Service of the SS (SD) were during the terrible era of Nazism, is another of the essential Berlin museums.
In this space located behind a piece of the Wall, you can review through the photographs and texts (in German and English) the chilling history of Germany during the Nazi regime.
You can arrive by subway with the U6 line getting off at the Kochstrasse stop or by train with the S1, S2 and S25 lines going down at Anhalter Bahnhof.
Visiting hours: every day from 10am to 8pm. Free entrance.
Topography of Terror, one of the best museums in Berlin
4. Bode Museum
Another of the best things to do in Berlin within the Museum Island is to visit the Bode Museum.
This museum, which is part of the five located on this island, has inside some of the most important works of European art and one of the largest collections of sculptures in the world.
The first thing that will catch your attention when accessing the Monbijou Bridge is the impressive neo-baroque architecture of this building, topped with a dome decorated with watermarks.
In its rooms you will find the excellent Sculpture Collection, the Byzantine Art Collection and the Numismatic Cabinet, which has more than half a million coins and medals.
Enter his most important works are "The Madonna Pazzi" of Donatello, an ancient Roman sarcophagus from 300 AD, the sculpture of "The dancer with cymbals", the Byzantine Pantocrator and the coins of the Greek and Roman Empire.
Visiting hours: Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 6pm (Thursday until 8pm).
Bode Museum
5. German History Museum
The German History Museum, located on the great avenue Unter den Linden a few meters from the Museum Island, is another of the Berlin's best museums.
Touring the interesting salts of this ancient baroque building built between 1695 and 1730 and which was used for more than a century as an arsenal of the Prussian army, you will review the 2,000 years of the convulsive history of Germany thanks to its more than 8,000 exhibits.
In addition to this permanent and chronologically arranged exhibition, this museum also offers temporary exhibitions of various themes.
Visiting hours: every day from 10am to 6pm.
All these museums are in the usual tourist routes, which you can organize following these optimized guides, according to the days you have:
If you feel like helping us complete the list of the 5 best museums in Berlin, add yours in the comments.
